Untitled
by JanaDKatic
Summary: "What's the secret for a delicious lasagna?" All of her students look at each other, shrugging their shoulders. "No one?" she asks, raising one eyebrow at them. Before I even realize it, my mouth opens and I tell them the secret ingredient. "Red pepper flakes… gives it some kick." AU. Former Student/Teacher story.
1. Chapter 1

**ONE  
**Emma Swan

I don't know what had possessed me to go to my old high-school, carrying a cake for my former humans and environment _and_ PE teacher. The last time I've been here was four years ago. Now I'm a psychologist student. When I'm honest, then I don't even know _why_ I decided on psychology. I just know that I love to find out more about humans and how they think, feel, and act.

The closer I'm getting, the more nervous I get. She was my favorite teacher at school. Always supportive, she always knew if I was okay or not. She was able to look through my lies and we never had this teacher/student relationship. We were more like friends.

A lot of my friends didn't like her like I did. They said she's a good teacher but way too strict. In my opinion she wasn't strict, she was tough. She was nice, I admired her and she's an idol of mine. Besides, I always knew how she ticked. When something was wrong, I knew it. I even knew what she's going to do before she even did it. In PE there were a lot of girls who thought they could mess with her by not listening or doing things they shouldn't do and I never understood how they could do that. Ms. Mills then shouted at all of us, walked out, calmed down and told them to either do as she told or they had an entry in the class-book plus detention. That mostly helped and they did as she asked.

And now I stand in front of my old classroom and I'm nervous as hell. _For god sakes, you're nearly twenty years old, get your shit together!_ I scold at myself and brush a strand of my blond hair behind my ear.

I was about to knock, when the door opens and a teenage girl walks into me. She did not even say sorry for bumping into me and nearly destroying my beautiful chocolate cake. I shake my head. _Teenagers_.  
I walk into the room and see how Ms. Mills is teaching them how to make lasagna. She makes the best home-made lasagna in the world. I place the cake on the counter and lean against the door frame and I watch them with amusement.

"What's the secret for a delicious lasagna?"  
All of her students look at each other, shrugging their shoulders. "No one?" she asks, raising an eyebrow at them. Before I even realize it, my mouth opens and I tell them the secret ingredient.

"Red pepper flakes… gives it some kick."

Her head turns into my direction, a surprised look on her face.  
"Emma," she breathes stunned.  
That's all it takes to make me grin like a fool, "Hi."  
She returns the smile and turns her attention back to her students. "Can someone please get the red pepper flakes?"  
One girl opens all the drawers and I start to chuckle, which earns me some angry looks.  
"She doesn't keep them in the drawers" I take my red jacket off and walk into the small back-room. "They are in the cabinets, hidden behind the flour."  
Without even waiting for Ms. Mills reply, I put the amount of flakes in the lasagna how she likes it.

"What are you doing here, Emma?" she crosses her arms before her chest, her eyes never leaving mine. She looks… mad? Why is she mad? I suddenly feel like a school girl, who apparently did something wrong, without even knowing what she had done.  
"I- I just came by to bring you a cake. To be honest, I have no idea why. I guess it was a mistake… so I better keep going. Goodbye, Ms. Mills, it was nice seeing you."

I cast one last glance at her, before I gathered my red leather jacket and walk out of the door. What was I thinking? You don't disturb a teachers lessons just because you miss her and because you wanted to bring Ms. Mills her favorite cake.

With grand strides I walk towards my yellow bug, not caring that I pull the door open with a force that makes me stumble slightly backwards.  
"Emma!" I hear Ms. Mills, but I don't care and get into my car. Before I was able to start the ignition, she opens my door. "Wait, please. I'm sorry."  
"There's no need," I tell her and I get out of my car, leaning against its closed-door. "I shouldn't have come. I'm sorry I busted into your class without announcing it."  
"Emma, it's fine, really. I'm sorry that I was so harsh. You just took me by surprise and I haven't seen you in four years."

"Yeah, unless you count the time you drove past me with your bicycle."

She laughed. "You're right. It was briefly and you were on your way home. But really, I am sorry."

"No, it is okay. You must know, I grinned like a fool after you drove past me."

"Like you grinned when you said 'Hi'?"

I nod. She laughed and touched my arm tenderly, what made me blush and suddenly very uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes. Why?"

Ms. Mills shrugs. "You look so…"

"Uncomfortable?"

She nods and glances at some students who are watching us. "You know that I don't have any self-esteem. Aside from the fact, you were my favorite teacher and I always liked you, no matter what all the others said and I always tried to defend you but they didn't care. You remember Melanie? She never liked you. She thought-"

"Emma, you're rambling and I do remember her and I know that she never liked me and frankly I never cared. Her opinion of me doesn't matter. Most opinions of my students don't matter. I'm their teacher and I don't need my students to like me. I need them to respect me.  
They don't like me? Fine by me, as long as they are civil and respectful."

A smile appears on my face and without thinking I hug her. The last time I hugged her was at my graduation when she gave me and my friends a green card, telling us 'personal' things. She wrote most into my card. In fact, I'm very proud of it. I always hoped that she liked me too and I guess she did. I glance at my phone to check the time and a picture of my one and a half year old son Henry appears on my screen.

"Who's that cute little baby?"

"My son."

She looks at me surprised. "You have a son?"

"Yes," I nod and hand her my phone. "He's the most adorable little man I know."

"I bet he is" she tells me with a sincere smile. "What about the father?"

"Neal? He left us-me. I told him I was pregnant and he was out of the door. Never came back."

"I'm sorry."

I shake my head. "Don't be. It's for the best… How are you and your husband?"

Ms. Mills looks on the ground. She takes a deep breath, before she looks me in the eyes. "We got a divorce."

"I'm sorry."

"It is fine, Emma. It didn't work out."

"Okay..."

We stared at each other for a few minutes, before we agreed on getting a coffee together very soon.

"I see you around, Emma."

"Goodbye, Ms. Mills." I was about to close my door, but she stopped it.

"Please, call me Regina."

* * *

_Thank you for reading!  
In case you are wondering what I did in my humans &amp; environment class: We learned how to cook, clean, sew, something about the environment and about humans.  
Sorry for mistakes, but I'm from Germany, and my English isn't perfect. _

_Hope you like it and stay tuned for the next chapter! :)  
– Jana_


	2. Chapter 2

**TWO**  
Regina Mills

Regina had a goofy smile on her face when she returned to her class. Her student's omniscient looks didn't go unnoticed by her, but frankly she didn't care. It was nice seeing a former student who cared about her and that didn't happen often. When she was honest with herself, it never happened. She knew what she got called behind her back. _The Evil Queen_.

"Miss Mills" Clara, one of her best students, interrupted her thoughts. "What are we going to do about the lasagna?"

Regina laughs and washes her hands. "We put it into the oven. Or do you want to eat it uncooked?"

Clara shakes her head. She takes the glass mold and shoves it into the oven. As soon as she was finished, Regina asked them to take a seat.  
"We're going to have a test in about four weeks. I want you all to remember every single recipe we studied in the past few weeks. You won't be allowed to use a sheet paper. The only thing you're allowed to use is your brain."  
He students groaned and Regina grinned. "Don't worry girls, it's not that hard. Many students before you have done it."  
"How many did fail?" ask Branka, a girl Regina disliked to the bone. "I guess a lot, since no one can remember that many recipes."  
"Not many. But if you keep that attitude up, I guess you're going to be one of them."  
A few snickered, but stopped when they saw the way Branka looked at them.  
"Anyway, you remember the recipes and you're good to go."

* * *

She closed her briefcase with a heavy sigh, took her coat and left the teachers' room. It was after 5pm and she really looked forward to a nice and warm bubble bath. Regina tightens her coat around her body to keep herself from freezing, while she was walking out of the school. Her mind wandered to Emma, the beautiful blond who addled her brain. She knew deep inside that she always had romantic feelings for Emma, even when she still was her student. Emma understood her back then like no other student or colleague of hers had. It was calming and terrifying at the same time.

"You okay, love?"

Regina stops in her tracks and looks to her right. There stands Killian Jones, his arms folded against his chest, while he was leaning against the bright white wall. She nodded while running her fingers through her hair. "Yeah, I am. Just tired."

He nods and Regina knows that he's not really convinced. "Then you better go home and sleep, okay? Can't see my favorite colleague all worn out."

Killian grins at her and Regina shakes her head amused.

"Don't worry, I will. Nothing can bring the Evil Queen down, right? Not even insomnia."

"You heard of that, huh?"

Regina cocks her head. "Of course I have, I'm not deaf!"

"Never thought you were." He steps away from the wall and walks towards her. "Regina, are you sure you're okay?"

His concern touches Regina. She swallows hard, coughs a little before she can bring herself to speak. "Yes."

"Okay. Call me if you need anything, okay?"

Regina nods again, a small smile on her lips.

"See you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

* * *

The moment Regina stepped into her mansion, she let her well protected wall down. She took the very first object that was within her arm reach – what happened to be her favorite vase – and smashed it into the wall. When she was honest with herself, she had no idea why she suddenly felt so damn angry.

It was either the kindness Killian had shown her, her family secret or her unresolved feelings for Emma. And the last one would be ridiculous. You can't look at a person and then you suddenly feel like all these years you were apart didn't matter. And on top of all, she was one of your students. Regina exhales and closes her eyes.  
Her life is a mess. It had always been and adding another person to this mix, wasn't a good idea. Regina knew that, but didn't know to solve this problem.

She takes a deep breath and walks into the kitchen. With one swift motion of her hand, the once broken vase repairs itself. Regina buries her face in her hands, tears running down her cheeks. A sob escapes her lips and then a loud, piercing scream.

Regina can't understand why she keeps this charade up. She knows her mother had to do it herself, but she grew bitter and got abusive towards her. Her father only stood by her mother's side and did nothing. He was weak – she loved him never the less.

She opens her eyes. She can feel the magic inside her. She knows what it means. Regina stands up and walks to the nearest mirror. Her eyes shine purple and a wicked smile appears on her lips.  
Without further thinking, she disappears in a purple mist, not knowing where it will bring her this time.

* * *

_A/N:_  
_I'm so sorry it took me so long to write the second chapter. I know this chapter is confusing, but you will have some answers as soon as we get there ;)_

_Hope you all are alright and this new season of Once Upon A Time is so amazing, I LOVE IT! (even though I'm really sad we only had a minute of Regina in the last episode.)_

_\- Jana_


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